A/HRC/RES/34/15
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
11 April 2017
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Thirty-fourth session
27 February–24 March 2017
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2017
34/15.
Birth registration and the right of everyone to recognition
everywhere as a person before the law
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the human right of everyone to be recognized everywhere as a person
before the law, which is enshrined in, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and
recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families, the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and other
relevant international instruments,
Recalling the obligation of States to register all children, without discrimination of
any kind, immediately after birth, which is an important element of the protection and
realization of all human rights, as provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on
the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and
other relevant international instruments to which they are party,
Recognizing that birth registration and the right to recognition everywhere as a
person before the law is closely linked to the realization of all other human rights, and
therefore underlining the importance of a human rights-based approach to birth registration,
based on international human rights obligations and commitments operationally directed to
promoting and protecting human rights,
Welcoming the commitment of States to leave no one behind, and recalling that the
provision of legal identity for all, including birth registration, is included as the standalone
target 16.9 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under Sustainable
Development Goal 16,
Recognizing that the full implementation of this target will have both a direct and an
indirect impact on the achievement of other targets and goals, inter alia social protection,
GE.17-05889(E)